


Made of Gold

by crankyjones



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Apologies, Crush, M/M, Smitten, Swing Scene 2.0, T. J.'s POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-05 15:17:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17327417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crankyjones/pseuds/crankyjones
Summary: TJ has been trying to apologise to Cyrus for days but he's been avoiding him.Except today, he finally manages to approach him.





	Made of Gold

**Author's Note:**

> Basically the two Tyrus scenes of 3x07 but with TJ's thoughts and a transition :)
> 
> Also available on my Tumblr > mrsirwinson
> 
> Thank you for reading!

It was starting to become a habit. Every good thing that happened to him, he found a way to ruin it. You could think he did it on purpose but the truth was, it was probably just karma. The universe making him pay for all the bad things he did in his life. Telling him that no matter how hard he tried, no matter what he said, no matter who forgave him and who helped him, he would always be that same classic TJ: mean, scary, the worst captain the school basketball team had ever had.  
However, TJ held onto a small amount of hope. Hope to have the opportunity to explain himself, to tell the truth. He owed Cyrus the truth. He owed him an apology. He owed him so much more… But Cyrus was avoiding him, and his two mothers Buffy and Andi weren’t exactly helping.  
But who said he couldn’t at least try to get to him?

It had been days since TJ had been wandering aimlessly around the playground. He remembered those swings being a spot Cyrus enjoyed staying at in order to think or to sort his own stuff out. Considering what happened last Saturday, it appeared to him as the only place he could possibly be. Why did Reed have to bring a freaking gun? TJ hadn’t talked to him since—and he didn’t want to. If he hadn’t brought that gun… _No_. He couldn’t blame Reed for not following Cyrus when he left. He should have—he knew it. But his friends… At that moment, all he could think about was how they were going to react if he just decided to leave. And because of that, he was now left with no one at all. No Reed. No Lester. No Cyrus. _No one._  
It had been days. Yet, there was no sign of Cyrus. It was as if he knew exactly where he’d be and when he’d be here and purposely avoided those places.  
But today, he was there.

The air stayed stuck in TJ’s lungs as his eyes watched the boy’s back. He was sat on the left swing, throwing his legs up and down slowly. The sight brought him back to a few months ago, back when they didn’t know each other—back when he didn’t know how much this simple event would change his life, would change him as a person. He didn’t know… And now, looking back, TJ thought it would’ve been easier if he did know. If he just knew and understood right away, instead of slowly and painfully realising how deep and hard he had fallen in love for Cyrus Goodman.

“Is that swing taken?” His voice came out a lot lower than he had expected; this was how much Cyrus’ mere presence affected him and his actions.  
The boy looked up and his eyes immediately met TJ’s, as if it was exactly where they were meant to be. But in those eyes, TJ could see the fear—and a small drop of what looked like incomprehension or incredulity. “How’d you know I’d be here?” He asked, holding harder onto the chains of his swing.  
“I’ve been stopping by,” TJ admitted, “to see if I could catch you without your bodyguards.”  
“I’m not supposed to hang out with you,” Cyrus said, looking down and far into the distance. Then, he started to get up. “I should go.”  
His hand lifted before his brain could process it but TJ had the reflex to stop it before it could touch the other boy. “No, stay! I’ll go.” And he would. But not until he had apologised to him, not until he at least tried to get him to listen. “Can I at least say I’m sorry first?”  
Cyrus just shrugged, avoiding his gaze. He looked like he didn’t want to hear any word from him. Yet, TJ started talking again.  
“I didn’t know Reed was gonna bring a gun. I wouldn’t have gone, and I definitely wouldn’t have brought you.” Of course he wouldn’t have brought him. Trying to get Cyrus out of his comfort zone by doing more ‘dangerous’ things was one thing; throwing him in any kind of _really_ dangerous situation like that one was another.  
The declaration made the brunet look up at TJ. His mouth was closed and his eyes were blinking, as if showing he was waiting for him to keep going. And so he did.  
“Now, you hate me.” Saying it out loud hurt a lot more than expected and TJ tried to swallow it away. “Classic TJ: anything good, I gotta ruin it.”  
And then, he just walked away. Cyrus didn’t want to talk, anyway.  
However, the boy’s voice called out his name, making him turn around. “You said you were gonna apologise,” he continued.  
“I just did,” TJ said, furrowing his eyebrows.  
“Actually, you didn’t.”  
“Yes, I did; I said I’m…” TJ stopped his sentence, trying to remember what he had said a second ago. When he couldn’t find the words ‘I’m sorry’ in them, he hummed. “You’re right. Well, sorry for not saying sorry.” He turned back, ready to leave the boy alone just like he said he would earlier.  
“So…” Cyrus’ voice stopped him in his tracks once again. “You apologised for not apologising. But you still haven’t apologised.”  
“You can be a little annoying, you know that?” TJ retorted, stepping toward the boy.  
“Well,” Cyrus started, getting up and stepping forwards as well, “you can be oblivious.”  
“Well, you can be very judgy.”  
“Well, you can be intimidating.”  
“You know what else you are?” The question blurted out of his mouth before he could contain it.  
“What?” Cyrus asked. His voice made him seem like he expected an insult.  
And, out of all the answers TJ could’ve given him that were spinning in his mind—amazing, cute, perfect, _the love of my life_ —he just said: “The only person I can talk to like this.”  
His green eyes were lost in the brown colour of Cyrus’. If they could talk, TJ thought they would currently be yelling his feelings out. He just… He just liked him _so much_. There was no existing word that had enough power to describe how much he liked him—how much he loved him.  
The brunet closed his eyes for a second and, when he opened them back again, they were filled with a gleam of happiness and his straight lips parted into a big smile. Thinking he was the one who caused this happiness made TJ’s heart melt. Cyrus’ mere person made his heart melt. He made his insides feel weird—but a good kind of weird. Being around him felt like wrapping up in a warm blanket when it was freezing cold outside. It felt like jumping in bed after a long school day. Except TJ felt like that _every single second_ he spent by Cyrus’ sides.  
“Okay if I stay?” TJ asked, smiling softly.  
Cyrus shrugged, never breaking eye contact or pulling away that beautiful smile of his. He then turned around and sat back down on the left swing, soon followed by his friend who sat on the other one.

For a few seconds, both boys stayed silent, the only sound reaching their ears being the soft breeze. The oldest was unable to tear his gaze off the youngest, who was looking down at his laps.  
“You know, I really am sorry,” TJ said, eventually.  
Cyrus raised his head, his eyes meeting the other boy’s immediately. He looked puzzled, but soon enough his lips twitched into a beautiful smile. “I know. I forgive you.”  
“But there’s this thing that’s bugging me a little,” he admitted. Though he was genuinely happy that Cyrus forgave him and didn’t mind staying friends, there was still one tiny problem. “Will Buffy and Andi forgive me as well?”  
The brunet’s smile faded a little bit, and TJ believed his heart just broke inside his rib cage. “I don’t know, TJ,” he said. “I wish I could tell you they will, but I really don’t know. They’re… protective. A lot.”  
“I figured that out,” TJ nervously laughed, swinging without his feet leaving the ground.  
“But even if they don’t forgive you,” he continued, “it doesn’t matter.”  
“But… won’t they make you stay away from me?” The boy bit his lip, worried. He couldn’t handle staying away from Cyrus once again. Those past few days were more than enough.  
“Maybe. I honestly don’t know.” TJ nodded, looking down at his shoes. “But I won’t let them.”  
He abruptly looked up, hopeful. “You won’t?”  
“I won’t,” Cyrus confirmed, determined. “I love them and I get that they love me, but I can’t let them control my life anymore. _I_ am the one who gets to choose who I want to hang out with. And I _really_ wanna hang out with you.”  
The words stayed stuck in TJ’s throat and no sound managed to exit his mouth. He couldn’t tell whether he wanted to cry because Cyrus _really wanted to hang out with him_ or to hug him because he finally chose to stand up for himself.  
“You alright?” Cyrus’ voice brought him back to reality.  
“Uh, yeah, yeah. I just…” _Quick, find something._ “I’m glad.”  
“For what?” He laughed.  
“For everything you’ve done for me,” TJ blurted out before he could stop himself. His cheeks suddenly became hot and he was sure they were bright red. “Uh, I mean…” _Yes, TJ, what do you mean?_ He was so stupid.

Luckily—TJ guessed—, a group of screaming kids entering the playground took Cyrus’ attention away from him. He turned his head to notice a few of them were running toward the swings.  
“Can we have the swings?” One of them asked.  
Cyrus looked at TJ exactly when TJ looked at him, which made the youngest laugh softly. “Of course,” he said.

They both got up and left the playground. TJ’s heart was beating really fast, he was afraid the other boy could hear it. They were walking close to each other, their hands brushing every now and then. They were so close yet so far. None of them talked, and TJ felt like he should be the one to say something. But what could he say after the ending of their last conversation? Maybe Cyrus was thinking about it right now. Maybe he was telling himself he found TJ weird. Maybe he now didn’t want to hang out with him anymore, because he was _so weird and so stupid_.  
However, Cyrus was the one who broke the silence.  
“Wanna sit down on those rocks over there?” He asked.  
TJ raised his head to look at where the boy was pointing and he just nodded.

“Is there something wrong? You’re very silent,” Cyrus worried as they sat down on some rocks, just above a small waterfall. That was actually a bit weird because there was a bench just behind them, but TJ liked it here. The thing was, he could be in a shark’s stomach and he would still like it, as long as he was with Cyrus.  
“No, don’t worry, I’m fine,” he answered, looking at him. “Sorry, I was just… daydreaming, I guess.”  
“Penny for your thoughts?” The brunet offered. “Well, I don’t have any money right now, but I’m a good listener so actually _you_ should be the one paying me.”  
TJ laughed, slightly shaking his head. “It’s nothing important.”  
“You can tell me,” Cyrus smiled. “Everything is important.”  
He gulped hardly. Cyrus was the best, and he really wished he could tell him how much he was glad to have him in his life. But it was not exactly the kind of thing you said to a friend. He didn’t want to scare him away, once again. “I was thinking…” TJ started, still trying to find something to say. “I was thinking about how there is a bench behind us, yet we’re still siting on those rocks.” A huffed laugh escaped his lips.  
“I know, that’s weird.”  
“No. Well, _yes_ , it’s a bit weird, but I like it here. The sound of the waterfall is pretty peaceful.” Being with Cyrus was pretty peaceful.  
“It is,” he said.

Cyrus turned his head to look at the water falling, and TJ did the same. He sighed, subtly. He loved this. He loved everything about that moment. Even though Cyrus most likely just wanted to be friends with him, he was okay with it. As long as they were together, he was okay with everything.

“Do you know what happened to Reed?” Cyrus asked, taking TJ by surprise. He didn’t think he would still mention what had happened but, in the end, he was glad he did. The boy deserved to know every single detail.  
“He has to do a hundred hours of community service,” he answered. “And the police are investigating his dad.”  
“For what?”  
TJ turned to face the boy. “Negligent storage of a firearm.”  
Cyrus blinked in shock. “Whoa.”  
“Seriously,” TJ mumbled, shaking his head several times. He could not believe it either when his parents told him about it.  
“I just want you to know it wasn’t… me, who told the police about the gun,” Cyrus said, his eyes filled with apprehension. “I would’ve but they already knew.”  
“Yeah.” There was a hint of a smile on TJ’s lips. He knew it wasn’t him. “I told them,” he admitted. Cyrus’ eyes widened, and so did his smile. His pretty, pretty smile. “Surprise! I did the right thing!”  
The brunet laughed softly, almost silently, and TJ couldn’t help the big smile from appearing on his face. That one smile he wore only around Cyrus.

Eventually, the boy looked away, seemingly lost in his thoughts, yet his smile never left his lips.  
Whereas TJ just couldn’t bring himself to stop staring at him. Under the bright sun, he looked like he was made of gold.  
And, in fact, maybe he was.


End file.
